Alignment with our partners

RTE has made regular dialogue with its stakeholders a priority. Stakeholders provide their expertise and viewpoints, thereby making it possible to anticipate and respond to their expectations. 600 partnerships have currently been signed (memberships or agreements) on a regional, national and European scale.

RTE is jointly developing its projects and solutions with various interlocutors, including environmental protection agencies, farmers, think tanks, NGOs and business associations, as well as regional authorities and institutions. This is clear evidence of a tenfold increase in mutual trust and efficiency. These partnerships may take different forms: exchanges, sharing of know-how, joint initiatives, etc. What they all have in common is their long-lasting nature.

Protecting biodiversity and birdlife

Committed to the protection of biodiversity, which forms the basis of its environmental policy, RTE has long been working with different partners to develop alternative solutions to rotary flailing, for example, a technique used underneath power lines to cut away vegetation, thereby converting the land occupied by power lines into environmental corridors. A number of partnerships have been signed with the Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs (FNC: National Hunting Federation) in order to jointly develop a sustainable and sensible land management system. Hunters have remodelled more than forty sites by restoring vegetation that provides wildlife with shelter and food.

In order to protect biodiversity around high and ultra-high voltage lines running across regional nature parks, RTE and the Fédération des Parcs Naturels Régionaux de France (FPNRF: French Federation of Regional Nature Parks) ohave formed a partnership seeking to foster biodiversity on pieces of land underneath power lines. Similar joint initiatives have also been agreed with Réserves Naturelles de France (RNF: France’s Nature Reserves) and the Fédération des Conservatoires d’Espaces Naturels (FCEN: Federation for the Conservation of Natural Spaces). The creation of pasture lands underneath power lines is an initiative that is being jointly run with the Confédération Nationale de l’Elevage (National Livestock Confederation).

The protection of birdlife is also a particular focus of RTE and defenders of the environment: Ligue de Protection des Oiseaux (League for the Protection of Birdlife) and France Nature Environnement sit alongside RTE and Enedis on the national birdlife committee. They take measures to protect birdlife by improving the visibility of power lines. Certain birds (e.g. ospreys and storks) like to nest in elevated locations such as pylons. Working alongside LPO in its efforts to protect the osprey and alongside ACROLA in its efforts to protect the stork, RTE teams have helped to install cameras close to the nests, which gather useful information for purposes of scientific research.

Fostering dialogue with the marine world

In order to prepare for the connection of future offshore windfarms and the construction of a first offshore platform, RTE is fostering dialogue with all stakeholders in the marine world (fishermen, rescuers, tourism players, NGOs, etc.). RTE is forging lasting ties with coastal and maritime stakeholders, is nurturing existing partnerships and is developing new ones.
A partnership agreement with the Comité National des Pêches en Mer et des Elevages Marins (CNPMEM: National Committee for Deep-Sea Fishing and Sea Farming)was signed in 2013 with a view to minimising the effects that these connections could have on professional fishermen. An agreement with Surfrider Foundation Europe, a leading NGO in the fight for the protection of the ocean and its users, was signed in 2018. It fosters dialogue on marine energy sources and seeks to prevent pollution in marine environments. It involves RTE in efforts to educate stakeholders while also including measures to raise the awareness of RTE personnel. RTE is also involved with sea-rescue teams (SNSM) and supports sea-rescue stations located near offshore windfarms.

Fostering dialogue with the regions

Being attuned to regional stakeholders is one of RTE’s priorities. It naturally fosters dialogue with the regions, focusing its efforts on blending its structures into the existing landscape, protecting the environment and helping to develop and maintain the local economic fabric. Playing a leading role where energy is concerned, the regions are seeking support with the establishment of their strategic energy programme. RTE helps them to establish an energy roadmap and to maintain their security of supply. Working alongside ADEME, RTE was involved in the “positive-energy region” initiative in Occitanie. The purpose of this initiative is to make Occitanie an innovative region, resolutely committed to the energy transition.

Successfully completing the energy transition

The energy transition requires commitment and coordination at all levels. That is why RTE is establishing partnerships with a number of players based on the principle of co-construction, in order to prepare the projected supply estimate or the ten-year network development plan. In order to achieve this objective, RTE is working with Négawatt on energy efficiency and sobriety, with the Nicolas Hulot Foundation on electric mobility and with France Nature Environnement on the importance of an environmentally-friendly grid supporting the energy transition.